Abstract: Employee #1, a supermarket employee, and a coworker were putting garbage into the throat of a Marathon Vertipack VIP garbage compactor through its side opening door. Employee #1, after placing garbage into the compactor, pushed the door shut with his left hand on top of compactor frame, squeezing his gloved left fingers into the 0.25-inch gap between the door and the frame. Employee #1 did not pay attention to where his left hand was before slamming door shut, and had not been trained to operate the compactor. He then jerked his hand out, removing the soft tissue from his fingers, requiring hospitalization for micro-surgery to repair his injuries.